Sistem Jawatankuasa Pilihan Khas di Dewan Rakyat, Parlimen Malaysia: Penilaian Kritikal terhadap Instrumen Semak dan Imbang Legislatif

Abstract

The core functions of parliament, namely, legislative, oversight and representative, reflect the significant contribution of parliament institutions to the overall governance of the country. These roles add value to the Executive’s activities while at the same time legitimising their actions. The role of parliament in ensuring good governance is manifested through the representation function and the government’s accountability in parliament. This paper aims to examine the role of checks and balances in the legislature through the Special Select Committee System in the Dewan Rakyat, Parliament of Malaysia. The paper first gives a brief overview of the background of the establishment of the current Special Select Committee System in the Dewan Rakyat, followed by a comparison with select committee systems in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Next, this paper analyses the strength and possible improvements of the Special Select Committee System before concluding with serious considerations for its strengthening as a way forward for the realisation of the Special Select Committee System for legislative bodies in Malaysia.